The Mischief Maker's Mistletoe
by LeQuin
Summary: Harry and Hermione are caught in a prank by the twins at Christmas that has them looking at their relationship in a whole new way. Just a little Christmas present for all of you.


This story is based off of a suggestion I received from Deathmvp after I had gotten a bit huffy about the cliches of soul bonds. Fred and George pull a prank where they make Harry and girl of my choice think that they have a soul bond by creating the cliche light show at their first kiss. I have chosen to use Hermione since it's the ship I find easiest to write. It's turned into a ball of fluff and nonsense. Enjoy.

* * *

 **Disclaimer**

Harry Potter and all associated characters, locations and what not belong to J.K. Rowling and whoever she sells the rights to. I have borrowed these characters, locations and what not in order to mess around with them. I do not own anything except the plot and I am not making any money from this endeavor.

* * *

Snow was falling softly outside the windows of Gryffindor tower. In the sixth year boys' dorm slivers of light could be seen escaping from between the hangings of one of the beds. If anyone had been awake and curious enough to investigate they might have pulled aside those hangings to find a pair of redheads chanting in low voices with an innocuous looking plant laying on the mattress between them. The white berries of the plant stood out against its smooth green leaves. They seemed to change colour depending which of the many spells that the two were weaving was closest at the time. After nearly twenty minutes of continuous casting the redheads lowered their wands simultaneously.

"That should do it." one of them said while wiping his brow as he leant back on his hands.

"Agreed. So when are we going to give this baby a test run?" the other replied adopting the same pose.

"I vote we do it as soon as possible. We don't really have a reason to wait, do we?"

"Not unless you count waiting for the holidays so the ickle kiddies are gone and we don't get a lecture from a _certain someone_." the twin who had spoken saw his brother shoot up with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"That, brother dearest, has given me an idea for the perfect test drive." he said rubbing his hands together in glee. It only took the first twin a moment to catch up to his brother.

"No! Absolutely not. What happens if the prank is taken the wrong way? You _know_ who's going to be coming after us then."

"No, no, that's the genius of it: we get them both. He can't get mad at himself can he?"

"He's going to get mad at us." the first twin pointed out.

"Nobody's getting mad if it's the two of them together. Have you seen them recently?" the second rebutted. The first twin took a moment to think it over.

"You realise we're going to have to actually run to a teacher and confess if this goes sideways?" he asked.

"School is all about new experiences anyway, right?" the second twin grinned. His brother sighed.

"Alright, let's hear it then." The two spent the next quarter of an hour hammering out their plan. Once they were sure that they had covered all eventualities they cleaned everything up.

"Is that everything?" the first twin asked as he pulled back the hangings and got up, stretching to work the kinks out of his back.

"One more thing actually." his brother responded, "Do you mind if I'm Fred tomorrow? It just feels like a 'Fred' kind of a day."

"Why not? Good night, Fred."

"Night, George."

:-:-:-:-:

Harry Potter felt like he was going to be sick. Professor McGonagall had just made him stay behind after class to tell him that he would need a date to the upcoming Yule Ball. As if that wasn't stressful enough he and this date would have to open the Ball together. Who was going to want to be stuck in the spotlight with a 'cheater', no matter how wrong that label was or how well said 'cheater' had performed against a dragon? Harry was fairly sure his friends would have headed up to Gryffindor Tower and allowed his feet to take him there while he mulled the problem over in his head.

His first instinct was to ask Cho Chang. She was pretty and she played seeker and... _and she's in Ravenclaw, so she's probably smart._ Harry had a feeling he would prefer going with a smart girl rather than someone like Lavender or Parvati. The giggling would drive him up the wall before the night was halfway over. He would also want to go with a good looking girl. After all the idea of a date was that you were attracted to each other; right? Harry gusted out a sigh. _I can't even figure out what you're supposed to want from a date. I stand no chance. Cho will probably just laugh at me the moment I open my mouth._

He noticed that his footsteps had brought him up to the Fat Lady and gave her the password. When she swung open he absently thanked her before heading in. Just inside the portrait hole Harry stood still for a moment and looked around. He saw three heads of distinctive red hair but none of them were Ron. The equally distinctive chestnut curls that marked his other best friend were exactly where he might have expected they would be. He moved over to the table that had been marked as Hermione Granger's Study Table: Approach At Your Own Risk in the minds of Gryffindors for the past three and a half years and dropped into a chair across from Hermione. Hermione's head shot up sharply at the disturbance, a scowl already forming on her features. When she saw who it was, her scowl softened into a mildly disapproving look.

"Was that altogether necessary, Harry?" she grumbled.

"Sorry, Hermione." Harry replied automatically. Hermione nodded and took a closer look at her friend.

"Is something the matter, Harry?" she asked him. " You look like Professor McGonagall told you the school decided to forbid personal owls." Harry gave a snort of laughter and shot Hermione a grateful look.

"I suppose it's not _quite_ that bad." Harry allowed while a part of his brain wondered about the possibility of transfiguring Hedwig into a human for a night and taking her to the Ball as his date. A throat being cleared and a foot nudging his ankle brought him back to reality. As he blinked the world back into focus he saw Hermione giving him an odd look.

"Harry, are you quite sure you're alright? You seemed a million miles away just then." she asked him in a worried tone of voice.

"No, I just-... never mind. It wasn't really important." he said as he shook himself.

"Oh no you don't, mister. What did Professor McGonagall tell you that has you acting so out of sorts?" Hermione demanded.

"She-... I need a date for the Yule Ball." Harry blurted out. Hermione blinked in surprise for a moment.

"That's it?"

"Well, the Champions and their dates have to open the ball; with a dance." Harry admitted as he felt his cheeks growing warmer. "It would have been hard enough with half the castle still thinking I cheated my way in, but with guaranteed humiliation thrown in I don't see how any girl would agree to go with me."

"Harry, I'm sure it won't be that bad." Hermione said as a smile started pulling at the corner of her lips at his dramatic delivery. "There will be more than enough girls that would want to go to the Ball with you." Harry gave a snort in response.

"You mean that there are still a few who would go with me in exchange for being able to say that they dated the Boy Who Lived." Hermione was a little appalled at the cynicism her friend was displaying and even more appalled at how accurate his assessment was likely to prove.

"Expecting to fail is the first step towards doing so." Hermione quoted one of her father's favourite sayings. Harry shot her a baleful look in response. "Well, it is. Maybe you should get started on your homework as a distraction from this overwhelming problem." she suggested pointedly. Harry groaned and dropped his head on the table. He did reach for his school bag though and pulled out the homework McGonagall had assigned. Hermione nodded approvingly and bent over her own homework. The pair had worked quietly for only several minutes when the next distraction appeared.

With a loud yowl Crookshanks leapt up on the table in hot pursuit of a mouse that was moving faster than the ginger half-kneazle would have believed possible. It raced close past his mistress and Crookshanks let out another battle cry and lunged forward to protect her from the unsavoury rodent. The little blighter was off like a shot again but the collection of strange, cream-coloured leaves that Crookshanks' mistress seemed to enjoy was giving him some trouble. He couldn't get any traction as the damn things kept sliding across the table top and by the time his paws gripped wood, and he was once again off in pursuit of the insulting little lunch meat, there was a flurry of the strange leaves in the air.

"Crooks! What on earth?!" Hermione yelled out as her familiar sent the expanse of parchment that always surrounded her when she worked flying into the air. Crookshanks wasn't listening though as he was racing off after something she couldn't see. Looking around she could see her carefully ordered work landing all around her in absolute chaos. Hermione was ready to scream in frustration when she saw a pale hand begin picking up parchments. Harry had come around the table and was kneeling on the ground next to her and picking up her scattered work.

"Harry?"

"I'm sure Crooks didn't mean it, Hermione." Harry said with a shrug as he handed up the first stack of parchment he had collected. Hermione took it from him in a daze. "You know, if you help out you'll be able to get back to work that much sooner." Harry told her with a lopsided grin. Hermione huffed, despite a smile of her own starting to form and she placed the stack of parchment on the table before scooting back her chair and kneeling down in front of it. Together Harry and Hermione soon had all the pieces of parchment collected. They stood up at the same time and each placed their collection on the table. Hermione smiled at her friend and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Harry." she said as she stepped back, one hand resting on his cheek for a moment. Harry just shot her that lopsided smile again.

"Always, Hermione." he replied before turning around and walking into a wall of absolutely nothing hard enough to bounce off again and land on his arse with a cry of pain. Somewhere above the two a tinkle of bells went unnoticed.

"Harry! What _are_ you doing?" Hermione asked in a dumbfounded tone as she looked at her friend who was cursing under his breath while holding his nose.

"There was something there." he muttered from behind his hand as he got up.

"Harry, that's ridiculous. There's nothing here that would-...oh." Hermione had been walking forward a little too quickly when her admonition was stopped short as she ran into the same barrier that Harry had. The only reason she didn't end up in the same position as Harry had was a strong arm coming around her waist and catching her. She shot a grateful look over her shoulder. Again neither of them noticed the tinkling of bells. "Okay, I apologize. Maybe there is something there." she admitted sheepishly as she got her own feet back under her. Grabbing her wand from her pocket Hermione started casting diagnostic spells. The readings she got were confusing.

"The spells say there is something there, but I have no idea what it is. It's not a spell I've ever seen before." Hermione said, her voice betraying her frustration with her lack of knowledge. Harry meanwhile had walked up to the place they couldn't cross. He reached out his hand and placed it on the resistance. He began to walk with his hand dragging across whatever it was. By now some students in the common room had noticed that something strange was going on and were turning to watch the pair.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked curiously when she noticed that Harry wasn't paying attention to her anymore.

"I'm trying to see where this ends. It would be silly if we thought we were stuck when we can simply walk around this thing." Hermione had to admit that that made sense and followed Harry's progress with her eyes. When he came full circle her shoulders slumped. It would seem they were stuck after all. As Harry removed his hand from the barrier Hermione felt like something had changed around them.

"Harry, could you put your hand back on the barrier, please?" she asked with a look of concentration on her face. Harry looked at her strangely but did as she asked. _There it is again._ "Harry, can you hear that?" Harry closed his eyes and listened carefully.

"It's coming from above us." he said, his eyes snapping open as he looked up towards the ceiling for the source. It didn't take him long to find it. Harry's face paled as he recognised it. "Um, Hermione? Is that...?"

"Mistletoe." Hermione sounded a little resigned. "Please take your hand off of the barrier and then put it back after counting to three." Harry once again did as Hermione asked. When his hand left the barrier the sound of bells stopped. When he replaced it the sprig of mistletoe seemed to shake lightly and they once again heard the sound of bells. "Well, that more or less proves that that plant is the source of the barrier. This feels like a prank by the twins." Hermione huffed.

"Does that help us get out of here?"

"Maybe. We can try destroying the mistletoe. That should destroy the enchantment around us." Hermione mused out loud. Harry gave a shrug, not having a better idea. Hermione drew her wand from her pocket and took careful aim. " _Incendio._ " Flames streamed from her wand and hit the mistletoe before rebounding. Hermione ducked in an effort to avoid the flames that were now heading her way. She tried to brace herself for the burn she knew was coming, but after a few seconds she hadn't even felt the heat of the flames. Hermione peeked up carefully between the arms she had thrown over her head. A translucent shield was shimmering above her head that she knew she hadn't cast. Her eyes were drawn to the only other person caught in this madness with her. Harry had his wand out and was just lowering it from a position that told her easily who had just saved her from a painful experience. His face was grim and his eyes met hers. Seeing she was okay Harry started scanning the room around them.

"Thanks, Harry." Hermione said a little breathlessly as she straightened up. She looked up at the mistletoe and felt a stab of disappointment when she found it undamaged. "How are we going to get out of here now?" she groaned. A pair of giggles caught her attention and from the corner of her eye she could see Harry stopping his search of the common room to look over at the source of the disturbance. Lavender and Parvati were standing no more than three paces away and looking as excited as she had ever seen them.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lavender tittered out before the two girls dissolved into giggles again. Hermione didn't think there was anything obvious about this situation and was about to let the two airheads know it. Lavender apparently saw the impending storm coming and cut it off at the pass. "Come on, Hermione, it's _mistletoe_." It was like Lavender had poured a cup of ice water down Hermione's spine. It didn't take her long at all to figure out what her room mate meant. She could feel heat rushing to her cheeks as she turned around to look at Harry. He was as red as Hermione suspected she was.

"Oh, this is ridiculous." she said firmly, before taking the two steps over to Harry and lightly kissing him on the cheek. When she stepped away Harry's face had gone even redder. Hermione moved over to the table but was stopped by the barrier and a now familiar tinkling bell.

"Hermione!" Lavender cried out in disbelief. "What was that supposed to be? I mean, I realise you barely know how to act like a proper girl, but that was pathetic. How do you expect any boy to ever show any interest in you if you act like that?" Lavender's tone suggested that she had honestly expected better from Gryffindor's resident bookworm. Hermione flinched back from the accusation she knew to be accurate. She _didn't_ know how to be the kind of girl Lavender meant. A growl next to her brought her up short though.

"Enough." Harry was seething. How _dare_ Lavender go after Hermione like that? _No one_ should go after Hermione like that. She was the only person that had stood by Harry in this whole Tournament fiasco and Harry was not about to stand by while his best friend crumpled in on herself. As far as Harry was concerned Lavender and Parvati should be holding Hermione up as an example of how they should act. Almost without any conscious input a decision formed in Harry's head. He turned around to face Hermione who was looking a little wide-eyed. He closed the distance between them slowly so he wouldn't spook her. His hand came up seemingly of its own volition and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before cupping her face. A small corner of his mind was panicking at what he was about to do, but Harry ruthlessly squashed it. He was acting on instincts he didn't know he had but which gave him a great feeling of certainty. With his pulse thundering in his ears Harry lowered his head towards Hermione's. When there were only centimetres left between them Harry paused. He could feel Hermione's rapid breaths on his lips and the warmth of her skin in the palm of his hand.

"Harry?" If he hadn't been so close to her, Harry wasn't sure he would have hear her say his name.

"Hermione." he breathed before closing the final distance.

Hermione didn't know how to react to what was happening. After Lavender's reprimand Harry somehow radiated a power that reminded everyone that this wizard had faced a dragon and won. When he had turned to face her Hermione had seen a nervous determination in his eyes. It wasn't the first time she had seen that look. It was a look she associated with Harry going out to face dementors and dragons; she had never thought that _she_ would be the subject of that look. The touches of his hand tucking her hair behind her ear sent sparks of something shooting down her spine. When he cupped her face she felt as if she was anchored to his palm and she didn't know if she would be able to pull away; she didn't even know if she wanted to. She was barely aware of her breathless utterance of his name as he leaned in towards her. Her mind was far too busy trying to make sense of what was happening. If she didn't know any better she would say that Harry was about to kiss her, but boys didn't want to kiss Hermione Granger. She was sure of that but she couldn't work out what else could be happening. Harry whispering her name tore her out of her train of thought. His lips touching hers drove every last thought from her mind. For once Hermione could only _feel_. She felt pleasure radiating out from where his lips were pressed to hers, dancing gleefully down her nerves. She felt a strong arm slip around her waist and pull her closer. She felt her own hands coming up to grip his shirt and his hair. She lost herself hopelessly in the kiss and never stood a chance against the sensations assaulting her.

When Harry pulled back he could see Hermione's glazed eyes and swollen lips. Her hair was bushier than usual but his hand withdrawing from her chestnut locks gave him a good idea of whose fault that was. Hermione's chest was heaving as she tried to draw in oxygen that had been denied to them during the kiss and Harry was surprised to find his own breathing was just as heavy. Looking at Hermione he couldn't help but think that Lavender was off her rocker. How could any boy _not_ show interest in someone like Hermione? The one thing that he had absolutely no explanation for was that both he and Hermione were glowing with a soft light, but since it was fading before his eyes Harry wasn't too worried. His recently discovered instinct was screaming at him that he needed to do something else, something more, to make sure that this experience could be repeated again and again.

"Hermione, will you go to the Yule Ball with me?" he blurted out. Hermione seemed to be trying to blink away the daze.

"Yeah." she murmured still not sounding like she was completely there yet as her hand came up to touch her lips.

"Morrighan's Cloak, you two! You don't do anything by halves do you?" Parvati's exclamation reminded Harry and Hermione that there was a world outside the two of them. As they looked up in shock they got a good look at just how many people had been witness to their first kiss. More than a few were staring open-mouthed at the two and a part of Harry's mind absently noted that most of those stares were coming from girls. Lavender and Parvati even seemed slightly flushed from what they had just seen.

"What-...what do you mean, Parvati?" Hermione asked sounding a bit more like her normal self.

"You're soulmates!" Lavender said in an awed voice.

"What?" both Harry and Hermione asked simultaneously in equal confusion.

"You are literally destined to be together, tied by the red string of fate." Parvati said looking unhappy with the lack of instant awe from the two in front of her. "Do you have any idea how rare this is?" she asked with a small amount of frustration.

"I'd rather know how you came to that conclusion." Hermione said sceptical as ever of anything to do with 'fate' and divination.

"When you two shared your first kiss a glow surrounded you. It's the definitive sign of a soul bond forming." Lavender explained. Harry and Hermione shared a look for a moment that conveyed their discomfort as they both remembered seeing a fading glow while they were coming down off of the high they had gotten from their kiss. "If you still doubt that we know what we're talking about, maybe you'd like to explain why you've been holding hands since you stopped kissing?" Lavender added slyly. Harry and Hermione's eyes dropped between them. To their surprise they _had_ started holding hands. Lifting their gazes they found each other and another silent communication passed between them.

"I hardly think the two of us holding hands after our first kiss proves anything." Hermione said as she looked back to her room mates. "Especially since it seems I now have a date for the Yule Ball." Hermione couldn't resist adding the last part, even though it really had nothing to do with why she was still clutching Harry's hand, since she knew that neither girl would have been asked so soon after the announcement. It felt _really_ good to be able to get back at Lavender for that 'proper girl' comment, no matter how much Hermione knew that it wasn't the most gracious of behaviour. Lavender and Parvati just gave twin disbelieving snorts.

"Alright, since you aren't prepared to believe us, why don't we show you some books in the library?" Parvati suggested. Harry could have predicted Hermione's response to that rather easily.

"There are books on the subject?" Hermione asked sounding a little less sceptical already. "Alright, we'll come with you."

"We?" Harry asked.

"Yes, 'we'. This is something that could affect both of us for the rest of our lives if it's real." Hermione told him. Harry held up his free hand in surrender.

"Okay, okay. The library it is." Harry and Hermione let go of each other's hands to gather their things from the table they had been working on. Now that there was an expedition to the library in the offing, Hermione was suddenly in a hurry. As soon as Harry had his bag slung over his shoulder she grabbed his hand again and started pulling him towards the portrait hole where Lavender and Parvati were waiting impatiently. Harry could be heard protesting this treatment as the Fat Lady swung shut again.

Back in the common room a pair of redheads hiding behind a couch let out the breaths they had been holding.

"I told you that this was a bad idea." George told his brother. "I thought I was going to mess my pants when Harry started looking for us."

"Forgot right about us when he started kissing Hermione though, like _I_ told _you_ he would." Fred retorted. "Anyway, this prank could become greater than either of us had anticipated. I certainly didn't think anyone would associate the light show we added for the sake of drawing attention to the kiss with a soul bond." He was practically glowing with excitement.

"So you don't think that this would be a good time to come clean, preferably somewhere near McGonagall?"

"Of course not. Let's see how far this goes."

"I don't know why I let you talk me into these things."

Neither redhead noticed that they were being observed by a pair of yellow eyes. Crookshanks was sitting in a corner, his tail flicking back and forth. In his mouth was a dried out inkwell that had been a juicy mouse only seconds ago. The kneazle part of his ancestry was screaming at him that somehow these two bipeds were to blame. He would teach them to try and play a mighty hunter for a fool.

:-:-:-:-:

Outside the common room Harry and the girls were just headed down the stairwell when they saw Ron heading towards them. His face brightened when he saw his two friends and his mouth opened only to close again without a sound when he saw who they were with.

"Hey, Harry. Um, what's going on?" he asked clearly trying to be subtle in asking why they were suddenly hanging out with Lavender and Parvati.

"Ron! Where've you been, mate?" Harry asked, happy to have some back up in the face of what he was sure was going to be an excruciatingly awkward session in the library.

"I was in the kitchens getting a snack." Ron responded getting a glare from Hermione for his troubles. "What? You know the elves love helping people, Hermione. Now, where are we going?"

"We're going to the library to look up, um, soul bonds." Harry broke in before Hermione could get started on an S.P.E.W. rant, though he couldn't bring himself to say the last two words in anything but an incomprehensible mumble. Ron looked at him strangely.

"You're going to look up what now?" Harry took a deep breath

"Soul bonds." Ron looked between his friends and their classmates for a moment.

"Ooookay. I have no idea why you'd need to do that but sure, we'll go look up soul bonds." As Ron joined their trek down to the library Harry slowed down a little so he could walk beside his friend while having a conversation. Hermione was still holding his hand and had been pulling him on, but she allowed herself to join in the boys' pace rather than letting go of Harry's hand. "So why are we helping Lavender and Parvati look up soul bonds?" Ron asked in a low voice once the two girls had gotten ahead of the trio a bit.

"It's not so much that we're helping them as they're helping us." Harry admitted. At Ron's confused look he elaborated. "They think that Hermione and I have a soul bond so we're going to take a look and see if we can find any information that can prove or disprove that."

"Alright, that sort of makes sense as far as it goes. Why do they think you have a soul bond though?" Ron asked. Harry felt a blush heat up his cheeks and saw that Hermione's cheeks were a lot more rosy than usual out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, Hermione and I, um, that is we...we kissed and apparently there was this glow of light when we did."

"Wait you and Hermione kissed? Why? I mean, how? I mean..." Ron sputtered out looking completely flabbergasted.

"We were stuck under a piece of mistletoe that somehow created a barrier around us. We couldn't destroy the mistletoe or Disspell the barrier. Kissing was the only thing that made it disappear. Lavender and Parvati started telling us about soul bonds after that." Hermione joined the conversation for the first time, speaking as crisply as she might if a teacher had asked her a question. Harry was about to add that Lavender had been acting unkindly and that he had asked Hermione to the Ball when he felt her squeeze his hand tightly. Harry looked to the side and saw her pleading with her eyes. Harry kept eye-contact for a moment hoping to figure out why she didn't want him adding to her story before he decided to just trust her and nodded.

"Blimey!" they heard Ron exclaim. "I have to say though a soul bond might explain how you two manage to do that all the time."

"Do what?" Harry and Parvati asked at the same time. Clearly Ron's exclamation had drawn the attention of their guides for this trip.

"You know, that thing Harry and Hermione do where they just sort of look at each other and manage to have a whole conversation. They were just doing it again." Ron said pointing his finger at his friends. Lavender gasped and her hand came up to cover her mouth.

"I remember reading that soul bonded couples can sometimes communicate with nothing but their minds. Other times they can even feel each other's emotions and tell when the other is in danger. Oh Ron, I'm impressed. I had completely forgotten about that." Harry noticed that Ron seemed to be puffing up his chest at Lavender's compliment. He looked at Hermione and found her looking back at him. By the look in her eyes she didn't think that their ability to understand each other had anything to do with some obscure kind of magic either.

When they got to the library, Lavender and Parvati showed their Housemates to the divination section. Judging by the ease with which they found the reference texts they were looking for they might spend nearly as much time here as Hermione did amongst the rest of the shelves. The five students settled around one of the study tables and each opened a book looking for anything that might tell them more about what had happened up in the common room.

Soon reference books were being passed over to Harry and Hermione by the rest as they pointed out passages that might prove that Harry and Hermione had a soul bond. Ron was shushed a couple of times by an aggravated Madam Pince as he always made sure to announce his discoveries loudly enough that he could be sure that Lavender had heard him. Lavender and Parvati kept placing the reference books they wanted Harry and Hermione to read exactly in between the couple for the sake of watching them lean in together to read whatever it was and then look at each other to see if the other was convinced yet. They thought it was very romantic how in synch the two were. After an hour and a half of research the group had worked its way through all the books the Hogwarts library had to offer on the matter of soul bonds, not that there were that many to begin with.

"Well, do you two see it now?" Lavender asked, unable to keep a slightly giddy note out of her voice.

"I think that Harry and I need to have a talk about this." Hermione said slowly while Harry nodded in agreement. "Thank you for your help in finding all this information, Lavender, Parvati." When Harry and Hermione got up from the table all three of their Housemates stood up with them. Harry was fairly sure that when Hermione had said that she wanted to talk with him that she had meant just the two of them, but judging by the look in Lavender and Parvati's eyes they were hoping to be there for the gossip value if nothing else.

"Hey, Ron, why don't you escort these ladies back up to the tower?" he said, ignoring the disappointed looks on the girls' faces. Leaning in towards his friend he added in an undertone, "You could take a chance and ask Lavender to the Ball." Ron's face went as red as his hair as he started sputtering, effectively drawing Lavender and Parvati's attention as they began to wonder what the two boys could be whispering about.

"Ahem, yes...that is, why don't I escort these two lovely ladies up to our common room?" Ron offered in an effort to seem gentlemanly and suave. He held out his arms to Lavender and Parvati who seemed torn between going with Ron and finding out what Harry had whispered in his ear and staying and trying to spy on Harry and Hermione's conversation. When the two Gryffindors in question began to make their way out of the library with clear intentions of finding somewhere private to have their conversation the girls' minds were made up for them and they each took one of Ron's arms with a slightly predatory light in their eyes; there was more than one way to unearth a rumour.

:-:-:-:-:

Harry and Hermione quickly made their way over to the empty classroom they had used to practice the Summoning Charm. Once they were inside, Hermione sent a Locking Charm at the door so they would at least have some warning if someone tried to come in. Turning back around after she had finished casting she suddenly became aware of the fact that she was alone in a locked room with Harry. _Come on, this isn't the first time that you've been alone with Harry_ she told herself. _It's the first time you've been alone with him since you two kissed_ an entirely unhelpful part of her mind reminded her.

"So... what do you think about what we found? Do you really think we have a soul bond?" Hermione asked Harry, trying to hide her flustered state by getting down to business. Harry was looking at her like he either knew what she was doing or was experiencing some similar emotions. When she met his eyes she saw that same nervous determination she had seen before he kissed her under the mistletoe. For a moment Hermione was taken aback by the surge of desire that rushed through her body; she realised that she _really_ wanted him to do that again. Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry's voice.

"I-... I don't think it matters." Harry got out, still with that nervous look in his eyes. Hermione was confused for a moment as she tried to puzzle out what he could mean. "When we k-kissed, that was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I don't care if that's because of a soul bond or not, I just care that it was amazing either way." Hermione felt amazed at the simple conviction in Harry's statement. It was an angle she hadn't considered yet. Did it matter whether or not they had a soul bond beyond an academic interest in the matter? She was surprised when she couldn't decide, or rather, she didn't want to. A part of her was desperately wanting it to be true, to have a soul bond with Harry, to know that there was someone out there who was destined to love her, no matter what. Another part of her was terrified that she would lose herself and a part of her free will if she was bonded to him and would much rather just have a relationship with him without the bond hanging over their heads. _So what you're thinking is that you want him either way, right?_ the unhelpful part of her pointed out. _Doesn't that mean that Harry was right in his own way? It doesn't matter whether the bond is real or not if you both agree that you want to be together regardless._ Hermione felt a warmth spreading along her nerves as she thought about being in a relationship with Harry.

Looking up from her contemplation Hermione saw that Harry was looking at her with a little fear in his expression. She suddenly realised that she had been standing there after hearing his answer without giving any sign of what she thought on the matter. If he was even half as nervous about all of this as she was that would have to be a nerve-wracking experience.

"Harry, does that mean that you would want to give a relationship a try?" she asked taking a step towards him and wondering why her mouth suddenly seemed so dry. Harry gave a single nod, some of the tension easing out of his expression.

"I think... I think I'd like that." Harry said before looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't really know how you go about a relationship though." Hermione reached out and with a single finger pulled his face around so he was looking at her again.

"Well, I seem to recall you asking me out on a date to a Ball."

"I seem to recall you saying 'yes'." Harry answered closing the rest of the distance between them with another step.

"So it'll be a... a date?" Hermione asked as she found her eyes riveted to his lips. She never noticed that her tongue darted out to wet her lips.

"Yeah. A date." Harry breathed as he started leaning in towards her. Afterwards Hermione was unable to say who had actually pressed their lips to the other's first, but she also discovered that she didn't care. Kissing Harry was a thoroughly new sensation and one she was more than eager to experience and explore. When the Ball was announced Hermione had been sure that she would be asked as a last resort, if at all. Yet, here she was hours later, kissing her best friend for the second time today after having agreed to be his date to the Yule Ball and having tentatively established that they would be entering into a relationship. There were all sorts of things happening to her today that she had never thought _would_ happen to her. She was unable to properly consider that or any other recent events though as her mental processes were being thoroughly scrambled.

When Harry and Hermione returned to the common room quite a bit later they had missed dinner and chosen to grab something to eat together in the kitchens. There was something intoxicating about doing things _together_ now that hadn't been there before. As soon as they stepped through the portrait hole every eye in the common room turned towards them. Both teens blushed under the scrutiny of their peers and quickly made their way over to where Ron was sitting with Lavender and Parvati. Their friend had a massive smile plastered all over his face.

"Harry! Hermione! There you are. Guess what?" he called out as soon as they got near him.

"No idea, mate. What?" Harry answered as he and Hermione lowered themselves onto a two-seater.

"I asked Lavender to go to the Yule Ball with me!" Ron's news seemed to bubble out of him with exuberance and pride. Lavender just shot her date a fond smile while Parvati rolled her eyes. "This is amazing, Harry. Not even Fred and George have dates yet. We'll be able to hold this over them for ages!" Ron crowed. Harry's face hardened for a second.

"Actually, Ron, now that you mention them, I'd like to have a talk with your brothers. Any idea where they are?" he said.

"Eh? I think they went up to their dorm. They're probably planning a prank or something." Ron responded, a little nonplussed as to what Harry could want with the twins.

"I think I'll just pop up for a quick word with them then. " Harry said as he stood up. Hermione grabbed his arm for a moment and a silent communication passed between them which resulted in a slightly grim smile from Harry and a slightly resigned one from Hermione. Ron's eyes were darting back and forth between his two friends in confusion.

"What was that all about?" he asked Hermione as Harry disappeared up the stairs. Hermione heaved a sigh.

"Harry's a little annoyed at how risky Fred and George's mistletoe prank turned out to be and wants to talk to them about that." she explained. Ron looked at the stairwell leading up to the boys' dorms for a moment before looking back at Hermione.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" he asked.

"He's going to be careful and not do anything rash." Hermione said with that same little resigned little smile she had been wearing when Harry had left. Lavender and Parvati sighed wistfully while Ron just shook his head at his friends' odd ability to communicate.

Upstairs Harry had reached the door to the sixth year boys' dorm. Making sure he had his wand in his hand Harry threw open the door. Like he had half expected, a strange purple goop was launched at the door as soon as it opened. Harry's wand snapped up and he cried out " _Depulso_!" The Banishing Charm sent the goop flying back into the room splattering the twins who had been in the middle of planning additional security measures to prevent this very situation. Harry stood there slack-jawed as the two Weasleys started shrinking. It wasn't a gradual or logical shrinking. Limb by limb the twins miniaturised, the last body parts to shrink were their by then comically large heads. When the goop had done its work Harry was faced with a pair of toddlers.

The Weasley toddlers looked around in surprise. When they saw each other they started laughing uncontrollably.

"You'we funny!" they shrieked at the same time. Their laughter stopped when they a heard a throat clearing. When they looked towards the door they found Harry there looking thoroughly unimpressed with the amazing magic that had just taken place.

"Cwap." Fred muttered. Harry just cocked an eyebrow.

"Well that clarifies whether or not you still have your older minds." Harry said. George shot his brother a glare that didn't manage to look more than cute. "Now, you and I need to talk about your little mistletoe prank." The twin toddlers looked at their shoes which were hidden by the robes they were now swimming in.

"Did you consider what might happen if someone had ended up in that barrier with Hermione that she wouldn't have been okay with kissing? Or that she might have been hurt trying to get rid of the barrier in some other way, the way she almost was by that Fire Making Charm?"

"We made fure dat it would onwy activate if de people under it made fkin contact." George squeaked out.

"And who fetf fire to miffletoe?" Fred added before cowering under Harry's scowl.

"Allf well, dat endf well, wight, 'Awwy?" George tried. Harry turned his gaze towards the other brother while he considered that.

"You two are going to come down to the common room with me and apologize to Hermione. If she forgives you, we'll leave it that." Harry told them sternly. The two Weasleys were once again nodding at their feet. "Let's go then." Harry said turning to the side so Fred and George could precede him down the stairs. When they got to the common room people started elbowing their friends and pointing out the tiny twins. Harry marched the pair over to where his friends were seated. Ron's eyes looked ready to pop out of his head as he saw Harry treating his suddenly very young brothers as nothing more than a pair of naughty children; and they were _letting_ him. Ron was sure that if he tried that they would hex him with prank spells, no matter what they looked like. Hermione, Lavender and Parvati were doing a very poor job of hiding giggles that were tending towards snickers.

"Well, boys, don't you have something you want to say?" Harry asked the twins as they came to a stop in front of Hermione.

"We'we sowwy, 'Ewmione." they both said in chorus.

"What are you sorry for?" Harry asked them sternly.

"We'we sowwy you could have had to kiff fomeone you don't wike." George said.

"And, we'we sowwy you could have been huwt." Fred added. Hermione couldn't stop herself any more. She leant forward and pinched both boys' cheeks.

"Aww, you two are adorable. We should keep you like this." she cooed at them to the twins' apparent horror. "I'll forgive you this time because your prank opened Harry's and my eyes. Next time I'm going to make you regret it, understand?" she continued in a more serious tone.

"Yef, 'Ewmione." the twins chorused sounding like they honestly regretted their actions.

"Alright, then no harm done." Hermione said happily. The twins looked up at Harry who simply nodded at them before they raced off. They didn't get far before they were knocked to the ground by a ginger ball of fur. Crookshanks had spotted the tricky bipeds, but they were now a size that offered him an opportunity to make it clear to them who was the alpha feline in this tower. He had settled on top of nearby bookshelf and waited for his mistress to dismiss them. When they passed under him he timed his pounce and landed on top of them. He was feeling a little smug that he had gotten both of them as looked up at him in shock. With a mocking yowl Crookshanks reached out a paw and swatted the nose of the one who had changed the inkwell into a facsimile of lunch. Before he could do more than that to assert his dominance Crookshanks felt himself picked up by a pair of arms. He was about to teach this presumptuous minion a lesson when he was deposited in his mistress' lap. Since she promptly started scratching him behind his ears and her mate joined in a moment later Crookshanks decided to let the indignity go this time in favour of properly enjoying the attention he was receiving.

After being ambushed by Crookshanks the twins now found themselves in the clutches of the Chasers who started transfiguring their clothes into little sailor suits and speaking to them in baby talk. Harry had just flopped down onto the couch next to Hermione who pressed a kiss to his cheek. Harry just grinned at her while they both scratched behind her familiar's ears.

"Bloody hell, mate. What did you do to them?" Ron sounded like he still couldn't believe his eyes as he watched the Chasers make sure that everyone was getting as much enjoyment out of the twins' current state as possible.

"They had a booby trap set up in their room. I just Banished the purple goop that it flung at me and it hit them. This was the result." Harry told them. Ron was just shaking his head in disbelief.

"They're never going to live this down. It's amazing. I never thought I would see the day." he said, his tone still filled with wonder. The group was soon joined by the rest of the fourth years, who came over to congratulate Harry and Hermione. When he heard that Harry and Ron already had dates, Seamus wasted no time asking Parvati. Neville and Dean followed this example quickly. Dean asked Fay Dunbar, another of Hermione's roommates and Neville asked Ginny, which led to Harry, Dean and Seamus holding back Ron while his blushing sister agreed to be Neville's date. Ginny joined the older students and they spent an enjoyable evening looking forward to the holidays and the Ball they would bring.

When the twins finally changed back it drew a lot of attention since it was just as chaotic as their shrinking had been. After they were back to their normal size and had transfigured their robes to what they were before as well, Fred and George surprised everyone as they curled up on a couch and fell asleep.

"Well, growing up is hard work." Hermione commented. "They must be all worn out, the poor little guys." The whole group burst out into a renewed fit of laughter. When they finally went up to bed, Harry received his first ever good night kiss. Lying in his bed he couldn't understand how he wasn't exhausted from the last few hours. Actually he was, he was just too excited to fall asleep. This was definitely going down in history as one of the best days he had ever had. It might even outstrip learning that he was wizard. He had been sure that would have been impossible when McGonagall had informed him that he needed to open the Yule Ball with a date. _In the end I found exactly what I was looking for though, didn't I? A smart, good looking girl is going to be my date and my girlfriend. And her kisses are something else._ As he thought back on the kisses with Hermione that day Harry didn't notice that sleep overtook him while he had a goofy smile plastered on his face.

* * *

 **AN:** I want to thank my little sister UrsaMinor for her beta-work on this piece. A very merry Christmas to all of you from both of us.

Until next time: happy reading.

LeQuin


End file.
